Chapter 21
Friday, November 25th
"Casey, Macy! Are you guys almost ready?" Ash called out from the front door. Macy rushed down the staircase with a small backpack that was likely filled with her coloring book and perhaps a doll or two. Soon after Casey lazily stepped out of the living room with her own backpack and phone in hand. "Are you bringing your homework, Casey?"
She rolled her eyes but gave him a nod.
"Hey, I'm just asking. You're in the same class as Audrey so the two of you can work together." Ash suggested thoughtfully. Cindy was Brock's second sister, who went to school with Casey.
Even though he had interacted with Brock's family on various occasions, Ash still struggled to wrap his head around them being a family of twelve. Having two siblings was hard enough to deal with at times, he couldn't even begin to imagine having nine!
"Let's get going, you two," Ash said as he opened up the front door to find a bandana-wearing brunette with her hand extended to knock on their front door. "May?"
Her gaze had been off to the side, so she jumped at the sudden call of her name.
"What are you doing here?" Ash inquired, lips pursed as he did so.
"I'm supposed to watch the girls today, duh." She responded, placing her hands on her hips as she stated this fact. Ash scratched at the back of his neck sheepishly. He assumed after his latest interaction with Dawn that she wouldn't be watching Casey and Macy for him anymore. And, by extension, May would no longer be offering her assistance. "Wait, are you guys going somewhere?"
"Yeah…I wasn't really expecting you to come this afternoon." Ash replied slowly and May tilted her head with a questioning glance.
"I'm best friends with Dawn, Ash, there's no question about that. But she doesn't dictate my life." May stated pointedly. Ash pursed his lips, raising his eyebrows. He felt like he stepped on a landmine for jumping to such a conclusion about May. He should've known better than that.
Rather than put his foot in his mouth, Ash apologized to the brunette, explaining his assumptions. May simply reiterated her stance, and Ash found himself smiling faintly at her. The past few weeks he saw a different side of May. There was much more to her than what met the eye.
"So, were you guys going out?" May inquired as she looked toward the girls. Macy gave her a big nod, causing May to smile brightly at her.
"Yeah. Like I said, I didn't think you and Dawn would be watching them tonight. We're heading over to Brock's place for the afternoon." Ash explained for her.
"Does he live far away? I could give you a ride." May offered with a gesture toward her car.
"Yeah, that would be awesome." Casey interjected, and Ash shot her a narrow glance.
"Casey, its barely a ten a minute walk. May probably has better things to do." Ash pointed out.
"She just said she was here to watch us today." Casey piped up, and Ash opened his mouth to respond before realizing Casey had cornered him. Casey made a face at him for his lack of a rebuttal before continuing. "Besides, it's a free ride."
Rather than drop his stance, Ash looked for a number advantage. His gaze quickly shifted to his youngest sister.
"Macy, you want to walk with me to Brock's house, right?" Ash asked her. To his dismay, she looked to Casey for guidance on the matter. Casey shook her head, and Macy then did the same to Ash.
"Majority wins." Casey stated, and Ash bit down on his lower lip to ward off any thoughts of how he could remove that smug little grin on Casey's face. All this took place with May giggling on the sidelines.
"Come on girls." May said as she stepped down to her car, opening the back door for Macy to climb in. Ash quickly locked the front door and joined Macy in the back of the car, forming a plot to pay Casey back for her sassiness.
Once everyone was settled in the car, Casey began to provide May with the directions to Brock's home as she drove.
"Ouch!" Casey exclaimed after feeling something strike her ear. She turned around to glare at Ash who was seated behind her. "What was that for?"
"What are you talking about?" Ash asked nonchalantly.
"You flicked my ear." She proclaimed, but Ash shrugged his shoulders.
"Did you see me do anything Macy?" Ash asked, glancing at the small girl beside him. Her nose was buried in her coloring book, selecting what pages she would work on at Brock's house. "See, I didn't do anything. Now come on, May needs to know where to turn off."
Casey cast a glare in his direction before turning around, pointing out the intersection May would be turning on. With a wicked grin on his face, Ash leaned forward again flicked her right earlobe, earning a yelp.
"You did it again!" She hollered, whirling around to glare at him. Ash was leaning back in his seat, whistling softly as he looked out the window.
"This again, Casey. You know, May might think you're going crazy if you keep this up." Ash said in a matter-of-fact tone. Casey pursed her lips, her cheeks reddening from frustration.
"Here, Casey?" May asked, receiving her attention.
"Yeah, make a right turn here." Casey replied before her ear was struck again.
She looked back at Ash again, a glint in her eyes. Ash merely avoided eye contact with her, though he couldn't suppress a smirk which caused Casey's look of contempt to evolve into a death glare. She would make Ash suffer for being such an annoyance.
"Right here, May." Ash said, pointing out a parking space up ahead. They went a few blocks north of the street Ash lived on, and the neighborhood opened up, becoming more suburban. Despite the houses being rather close together, each of them still had a fair piece of property compared to the more densely populated area where Ash lived.
Seated on the front steps was Brock, along with one of his younger sisters, Cindy. Spotting Casey as she stepped out of the car, she abandoned Brock to meet up with Casey. Without wasting a moment, the two of them picked up on a conversation they must have been having earlier, speaking without any context that the rest of them could pick up on.
"Come on Macy, let's get going." Ash said as he stepped out of the car. He reached in to pick up Macy and set her down outside where she dashed up the house to greet Brock. Watching her as she did so, Ash caught sight of Casey as she and Cindy went up the front steps, and Casey shot him a chilling glare, a warning to watch his back for the rest of the day. Ash stuck his tongue out, daring her to try anything.
"The two of you really go at it, huh?" May inquired from the front seat, laughing at this prolonged exchange between Ash and Casey.
"I can't let her think she's winning." Ash replied with a huff. May laughed and waved off Ash's thanks for the ride as he moved to speak with her through the passenger window.
"Just so you know Ash, whether or not you and Dawn sort out this stuff between you guys, I'm going to watch your sisters when you need me to." The brunette stated, looking directly at him. "I really enjoy spending time with them, they're the little sisters I always wanted but…instead, I got my annoying brother."
"You wanna trade? I'll take a brother over Casey any day." Ash remarked.
"Only if you throw in Macy."
"Not a chance. That sweetie-pie is mine." Ash stated with a warm smile as he looked back at his youngest sister, who was on the porch speaking with Brock. May smiled as well, glad to see Ash in such a great mood despite the events of the day. "You know, you're free to hang out with us today if you want to, May. I'm sure Brock wouldn't mind."
May shook her head and gave him a wink.
"I can always give Drew a call," May replied cheekily. "I'll see you Monday!"
They waved to each other before May took off, leaving Ash to join Brock and Macy on the front steps. Ash and Brock bumped fists before Brock's youngest pair of siblings burst out of the front door shouting for Macy. They were twins, Billy and Tilly, "two hyperactive runts" as Brock put it, that couldn't go a moment without finding some sort of trouble.
"Macy! We made up a game, come try it!" Billy exclaimed as Tilly grabbed Macy by the hand to lead her back into the house. Ash and Brock were left alone outside, and Ash looked into the house with a questioning glance.
"Shouldn't we go inside and keep an eye on them?" Ash suggested, but Brock sighed.
"Forrest and Yolanda are in there." Brock replied, his gaze downcast. Taking note of this, Ash took a seat beside his friend on the steps.
"Something wrong?" Ash asked him.
"Remember I told you there was an opening to become a shift supervisor at the warehouse I work at?" Brock asked him. Brock had been giddy all week, making plans for what he'd do after this promotion. "Well, my dad I got a tip that they would be promoting someone in-house. We thought it was going to be me but…they brought in a guy from Celadon City to take the job."
"Ah shoot, that sucks." Ash said, trying to sympathize with Brock.
"It would've been great if I got the job. It would've meant a lot of extra money for us." Brock said, glancing back at his home. "We could really use it right now, so I really wanted that promotion."
Ash felt his chest tighten, immediately recalling that Brock gave him his savings just a few weeks prior.
"So far nothing has been going my way. Our crew hasn't gotten much traction and my job is going nowhere…I'm stuck man." Brock mumbled, running a hand through his spiky hair.
Remembering how his friend had come to his rescue when he was in a bind, Ash knew that he had to do the same for Brock. He asked himself what he could offer, but all he could offer was a promise.
"Brock," Ash began, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know you want to spoil the crap outta your family."
"Heck yeah, I do," Brock interjected emphatically. "My parents bust their asses for us, but they hardly get to rest. I want to make enough money to let them both take a week off at the same time, and you know, be together."
His dad worked full time, and his mom was as close to full-time as she could get while managing ten children. A lot of that involved coordinating with Brock and her husband to ensure that a legitimate form of supervision was present in the house at all times.
"I'm telling you, Brock, as soon as I get a debut match and win it, I'll pay you back everything you've given me,"
"Ash, you don't owe me anything." Brock cut him off, looking straight at him.
"Don't say that. You had my back when I needed help, so I'm going to do the same thing for you the first chance I get." Ash said firmly, giving Brock a hard stare to reinforce his statement. Brock sighed, knowing that he couldn't change Ash's view on this. Ash was as stubborn as they come once he set his mind on something. Rather than press the issue, Brock focused on the new subject Ash presented him.
"How is that going, by the way? Any word on a debut match?" Brock inquired as they relaxed, leaning back on the steps.
"Nothing so far from the commissioner or Mr. Berlitz." Ash replied, trying to keep his spirits up. He wanted a match to be arranged for him immediately after joining the underground circuit, but five days had passed and there was still no word on a debut match.
"That's alright, you just focus on training with Pikachu. And then when you get a debut match, you'll knock it right out of the park." Brock commented, giving Ash a grin.
The front door opened behind them, revealing Brock's mother, Lola. She was dressed in her blue nurse's scrubs, and a large messenger bag slung over his shoulder.
"Hi, Ash! Brock sweetie, I'm going to borrow your car tonight, I got called in early." Lola stated as they made space for her to come down the staircase.
"Yeah, it's got a half tank though." Brock revealed for her.
"I'll fill it up when I'm coming home then." She replied as she went over the driveway where Brock's car was waiting outside the garage.
"Thanks." He said, waving to her along with Ash as she got into his car. After turning on his car, she lowered the window to share one last thing. "By the way, Billy and Tilly found their slingshots. Do me a favor, take them back tonight and find a new spot to hide them in."
And with that, she reversed out of their driveway and took off.
"What time is she going to get home?" Ash asked.
"Probably around midnight. By then everyone is asleep, but my dad might stay and wait for her if he's not too tired." Brock explained, and Ash tucked this information in the back of his head.
"Man, if we start making some real money, what's the first thing you'd do for your family Brock?" Ash asked him, and Brock looked over at him.
"How much money?"
"Like, a couple thousand dollars."
"I'd tell my parents to take a week off, and send them to a hotel over on the east side. That way they could get pampered for a week straight." Brock explained, gaining a nod of respect from Ash.
Ash took a deep breath, restating what Brock had said in his mind. He wanted to remember that during his debut match, to use it as fire to conquer his opponent. He would be battling not just for himself, but for all the people around him.
Sunday, November 27th
"Time out!" Ash hollered, signaling with his hands to halt the battle between Pikachu and Giselle's Cubone.
He was in the middle of yet another heated training session with Giselle on Route 6 when his phone began to ring. Brock would always notify Ash of who was calling, just to make sure there wasn't any kind of emergency with the girls. This time, however, the person calling immediately took priority over his training.
It was none other than, Malcolm Berlitz.
Ash felt so calm despite the rigorous training he and Pikachu were going through, yet as soon as Malcolm was mentioned, he became nervous. The man essentially held Ash's life in the palm of his hand. If Ash screwed up in any way possible, the man would no longer sponsor him, and his only shot at staying in the circuit would be gone. So of course, he would be nervous, but Ash couldn't let that show.
"Hello?" Ash answered after he received his phone from Brock.
"Ah Ash, do you have a moment to speak?" Malcolm asked, getting straight down to business.
"Yeah-yup. What can I do for you?" Ash asked in return.
"Charles Goodshow contacted me last night with some rather," Malcolm paused and Ash began to hear some shuffling in the background as Malcolm spoke to someone else. "-I'm sorry about that Ash, I'm rather busy at the moment but I had to get in touch with you. I have some unfortunate news."
Ash frowned visibly at this statement. Brock mouthed a question to him, but Ash waved off his concern as Malcolm continued.
"It appears as if Charles is struggling to arrange a debut match for you."
"How come?"
"Your reputation, or lack of it. No one wants to battle a teenager." Malcolm revealed, and Ash clicked his tongue. He knew being young would cause a lot of people to underestimate him, but he didn't think it would be a total roadblock on his path.
"So, what? Do I have to convince them that I'm the real deal?"
"That's exactly what you should do," Malcolm said in agreement. "I'm away on business for the next few weeks, so I can't offer you much help for this."
"Well, do you have any suggestions?" Ash asked hopefully.
It took some time before Malcolm responded to this. Ash could faintly hear other voices in the background, but he couldn't be certain how many people Malcolm was talking to. Finally, he gave Ash an answer, one that caused Ash to wrinkle his nose in dismay.
"I'm sorry Ash, I'm about to meet with a client. All I can tell you is to do something to get your name out there." Malcolm said, and then he immediately hung up. Lowering his phone from his ear, Ash practically jumped when he discovered that Brock was practically on top of him trying to listen to the discussion.
"Is the boss man upset with you?" Brock questioned and Ash made a face at him.
"No." Ash proclaimed.
"Why did he have to call you, then?" Brock pressed. Rather than make a comment about Brock's nosiness, not to mention the invasion of privacy when he tried to listen in on the call, Ash cut to the chase.
"I've got a problem. No one wants to battle me, so I haven't gotten a debut match." Ash explained, and Brock began to stroke his chin in thought.
"To be honest, I'm not surprised." Giselle pointed out. The two guys looked toward her expectantly, waiting for her to elaborate. "I thought battling you would be a waste of my time. I didn't take you seriously at all during our first few battles. But you kept coming back, and there was a steady improvement from one battle to the next…you forced me to say, 'hey, this kid is pretty good.'"
"And you gotta do the same to everyone else." Brock noted.
"That's what I was thinking. But what's going to put everyone on notice?" Ash asked him.
"I figured beating Giselle was a pretty big deal. I mean it got you into Charles' good graces." Brock pointed out and Ash nodded.
"Charles takes a liking to anyone that's good. I've heard that he's seen many trainers battle over the years, and there aren't that many good trainers out there." Giselle went on. "It's one thing to be respected by Charles. It's another to be respected by a fellow trainer, because if there's one thing a lot of trainers in Vermilion City need, it's a big fat piece of humble pie."
Ash and Brock stifled a laugh at this, but Giselle was serious.
"You guys think it's funny, but there are so many trainers in the circuit that have a big head. It's the reason they won't battle you, Ash. They all think you're beneath them, and if by some miracle you beat them, it'll be so humiliating that most of them won't be able to live it down." Giselle explained, a sinister smirk on her face. She loved the thought of Ash knocking a few of those guys down a peg or two. Ash possessed the skill to do just that.
"I get where Giselle is going," Brock stated, and everyone looked toward him. "You have to take on one of the big shots in a street battle and show everyone that you mean business."
"Like who?" Ash asked, and Giselle immediately volunteered some information for them.
"I can think of someone." She said as she opened up the PokeHub on her phone. In no time at all, she found the profile of a notable trainer. He had spiky blue hair, and he held a surfboard in his profile picture. "This is Brawly, better known as the 'Wave Ripper.' I wouldn't say he's arrogant, but he's part of the Lightning Regalia and those guys really need to get knocked off their high horse."
"The Lightning Regalia?" Ash repeated the name, looking to Brock for further explanation.
The Lightning Regalia was one of the four Kingdoms of Vermilion City. Of the four Kingdoms, this one was the second largest, though it paled in comparison to the White Lotus. The King of the Lightning Regalia was a stoic young man, highly respected throughout the Pokemon community for his incredible skill, which placed him as the second strongest trainer in Vermilion City. Similar to their situation in the size of their Kingdom's, the King of the Lightning Regalia was second of course to N, King of the White Lotus.
The White Lotus dominated the Pokemon scene, for the most part, featuring a greater quantity of powerful trainers in the underground circuit than all the other Kingdoms combined. New trainers flocked to the White Lotus aiming to learn from N, and the Lightning Regalia were quick to realize that the White Lotus was becoming the only major power among the Kingdoms. In an effort to draw attention to themselves, they began to push this idea that they were rivals to the White Lotus, proclaiming that the White Lotus would crumble due to its size.
"So, these guys made up a rivalry with the White Lotus, and they act like they're good because of it?" Ash asked for clarification, earning a nod from Brock and Giselle. "Have they even seriously like, battled with the White Lotus?"
Ash had been through such an experience not too long ago. Even the lesser trainers of the White Lotus had pushed him around, but he and Pikachu had grown considerably since then.
"Not as far as I can remember." Brock noted, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
"It's just like I was saying, they're all talk." Giselle proclaimed. "They want to be rivals with the White Lotus for the attention, and nothing else."
Ash rolled his eyes.
A one-sided rivalry was no rivalry!
Ash recalled his few encounters with N, realizing that he was no different from the Lightning Regalia. His rivalry with N was one-sided. N was the strongest trainer in Vermilion City and he outclassed Ash in all aspects of being a Pokemon trainer. These facts pushed Ash to work hard every day to improve with Pikachu.
If he was one day going to rival N and face him in battle, Ash needed to prove he deserved the right to call himself N's rival.
"It's settled then, we'll take on Brawly. Right Pikachu?" Ash stated and Pikachu leaped up onto his shoulder. Pikachu gave him a big nod of agreement, wearing an expression to mirror Ash's confidence.
"Well if that's your game plan, then I think we should go all out." Giselle suggested, sharing a glance with Ash and Brock.
"How so?" Brock asked her with a narrow glance.
"On the weekends when he doesn't have a match in the Hidden Cove, Brawly has battles at a private beach on the south side of Vermilion City. He streams every battle he has during that day to the PokeHub. If you pop up during his stream and beat him, trust me, Ash, you'll be one everyone's radar." Giselle explained and Ash punched his palm, anxious to begin training. "Next weekend he'll be streaming, so this is a chance for you to make a name for yourself."
"Alright then, we're going to take down Brawly!"
Witnessing Ash's eagerness, Brock couldn't help but recall the intervention he had with him the night Ash shared that he was thinking about joining the Red Skulls. He was happy to see his friend marching off on his own path now, but there were several nagging thoughts in the back of his mind, all of which would hopefully be addressed by the following week.
Tuesday, November 29th
Ash had grown accustomed to the routine that he followed over the last few weeks after the intervention with his friends. He went to school during the day, returned home to check on Macy, collect Pikachu, and then Brock would take him up to Route 6 to train with Giselle. It was a very straightforward lifestyle, from point A to B, and from B to C.
Today, however, Brock had stopped somewhere else while they were heading to Route 6. They traveled to another packed neighborhood about twenty minutes from where Ash lived. Brock parked the car right in front of an apartment complex and invited Ash to join him he went in.
"What are we doing here, Brock?" Ash asked him as he got off the car.
"I'll explain on the way, and bring Pikachu." Brock stated. Ash raised his brow, but complied to the request. Once Pikachu was safely tucked away in his backpack, Ash followed Brock into the building.
"So, uh, what are we here for?" Ash asked against as his friend guided him up to the second floor. Brock, however, remained silent until they arrived at their destination. Apartment 2-G.
He knocked on the door, a few moments later it opened up revealing the dark haired designer that worked with Brock's dance crew. Valerie.
"Hi, guys." She said cheerily, inviting them in. Brock stepped in without a thought while Ash stood in the doorway stupefied.
"You live here, Valerie?" Ash exclaimed at her, and she laughed.
"Why else would I be here Ash?" Valerie asked in return, making a gesture for him to come in so that she could close the door. Entering her studio apartment, Ash was impressed with how Valerie organized her small home to make the most of out of it. Most of the main living space had been dedicated to being a design workshop with fabrics and sketches scattered about. Ash joined Brock on the couch, while Valerie brought over a wooden chair.
A silence set in as both Brock and Valerie stared at Ash. Their gaze left him unnerved until he finally opened his mouth to question.
"What's up, guys?" He asked them. He thought Brock came here to handle a matter with Valerie, but so far, it felt as though they had come here to waste time.
"I brought you here for a reason, Ash." Brock began, and he looked toward Valerie who took over the conversation from there.
"I wanted to talk with you, Ash." Valerie stated.
"About what?"
"About…Pokemon." She said tactfully. Ash raised his brow, surprised that Valerie wanted to tackle such a subject.
"Really? You want to talk about Pokemon, with me?" Ash exclaimed as all sorts of questions began to flood his mind. "Are you a trainer? Or uh, are you trying to become one too? What's your favorite-"
"Ash," Valerie said sharply to silence him. She then followed this by smiling at him. "I'm supposed to be asking the questions."
"Oh, right." Ash mumbled out sheepishly, motioning for her to go ahead.
"So…I'd like to know what exactly it is that you want to accomplish with your Pikachu."
Ash's gaze became narrow and more questioning as he observed Valerie. Why did this matter to her?
"What I want to accomplish?" Ash repeated the question as he opened up his backpack to release Pikachu.
The small Pokemon perked upon spotting Valerie and politely greeted her. Valerie tapped her lap as an invitation to Pikachu, and he leapt up to allow her to groom him. During this time, Ash thought long and hard about his answer before he spoke.
"I want to make a change…to the way people think about Pokemon." Ash expressed slowly.
"And how do you intend to do that?"
"The way I see it, I have to be somebody." He stated thoughtfully. "No one is going to listen to some no-name kid with a Pikachu. But if I was the strongest trainer, I'm sure that'll turn some heads in my direction."
"Being a trainer isn't the only way to convince people that Pokemon aren't dangerous." Valerie pointed out. "Sometimes, you have to rely on words rather than actions – but you know what, I didn't want to discuss this with you. What I wanted to know was how sure you are."
"What for?" Ash asked cautiously. Not that he minded Valerie asking him questions, but it seemed rather weird coming from her. He knew enough about her to be comfortable around her, but now as he thought about it, he never really had a chance to get to know Valerie that well.
"I understand that you want to change things Ash, but I feel that you also need to understand that you can't change everything just because you want to." Valerie said, causing Ash to steel his resolve.
"What? Did you call me here to have a reality check?" Ash asked her incredulously. Valerie paid no mind to the change in his demeanor and continued with the discussion.
"To be honest Ash, yes, that is what I want you to have." She said, looking straight at him. "I really respect what you want to do, but I'm not sure if you understand what you're trying to do."
"Valerie, I know it's not as simple as I'm making it sound. I know for a fact that it's going to be hard as heck to change things." Ash related, wringing his hands.
"Are you sure that you're ready to commit your life to Pokemon?" Valerie asked him. He met her gaze, and Valerie could see it in his eyes. Ash had already made a commitment in his heart that he would stick this path, through thick and thin.
"Yeah Valerie, I'm sure about it."
She breathed out a sigh before glancing at the door to her bathroom.
"Spritzee, you can come out now." Valerie announced, causing Ash to stare in the direction she was looking. The bathroom door was partially open, allowing a small creature to peek out. Spritzee was a small bird like Pokemon with pink feathers that immediately gained Pikachu's attention with its appearance.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, jumping down from Valerie's lap to greet this Pokemon. Spritzee became overjoyed at the sight of Pikachu, and the two of them began to converse loudly. Seeing Pikachu interact with Spritzee reminded Ash that Pikachu didn't have much contact with other Pokemon aside from Giselle's Cubone, and by the looks of it, Spritzee might have been in the same boat.
"You have a Pokemon?!" Ash exclaimed at Valerie. She smiled and gave him a nod. Of all the people to be hiding a Pokemon, Valerie was the last person he would've expected!
"We met back when I was sixteen," Valerie explained softly, watching as her partner began to drabble some of her experiences to Pikachu who laughed as the story progressed. Despite these two having a happy conversation, the mood became heavy as Valerie looked down, her bangs casting a shadow over her eyes. "My family wasn't happy about it."
Brock leaned back into the couch, taking a peek at Ash to see his expression. Surprisingly, his friend was still neutral despite the subject at hand.
"Johto isn't like Kanto, where people with Pokemon kind of get away with it. They really crack down on anyone who thinks they can keep a Pokemon." Valerie revealed, and Ash's face hardened.
She began to spin a tale taking them back to her youth in Cherrygrove City, and how she would visit the abundant meadows that surrounded that town under her mother's supervision. At the tender age of nine, Valerie had her first encounter with a Pokemon. It was an injured Furret that was passing through the meadow. Pointing it out to her mother, the actions that followed were the last thing Valerie could have expected.
Her father arrived on the scene within minutes, and without any mercy, he put Furret to death.
"Are you freakin' serious?!" Ash jumped to his feet with this exclamation, a vein on his forehead bulging.
"Johto is nothing like how it is here Ash. I don't know why, personally, but the fear of Pokemon runs deep." Valerie responded, a frown on her face. To this day that memory still haunted her. The panic on Furret's face as her father approached with a small firearm in hand, the desperate please Furret gave out as he tried to get away but, in his condition, he failed to do so. The echo of the gunshot through the open area.
She brought this subject to her mother later on - why do we kill Pokemon?
To keep her safe.
Being so young at the time, Valerie accepted this short answer without any thought. But as she grew into her teens, her mind became more open.
To keep her safe from what?
Were Pokemon actually dangerous?
Valerie began to pursue her own answers, and in her mid-teens, she returned to the meadows around Cherrygrove City. Now that she didn't need any supervision, she ventured further out, reaching the areas that were inhabited solely by Pokemon and she immediately discovered that these creatures were far different from what she had been told growing up.
Untamed? Beasts? Savages?
They were nothing of the sort. To her shock and awe, Valerie was greeted by dozens of them beyond the meadow, being led into their community where she saw firsthand how Pokemon interacted with one another. There was organization, structure, and cooperation. Not just between certain Pokemon, but all of them. Guidance was provided for the young, assistance was given to the older ones. It practically mirrored human society.
Valerie found herself visiting these Pokemon almost daily and as time went on, she forged numerous friendships with them. When she was sixteen, she met a Spritzee and the two of them became fast friends.
"I don't really know how to describe it…but I felt some sort of connection to Spritzee when we first met. Like how people go on about soulmates, I think Spritzee and I were meant to be together." Valerie explained, directing a kind smile at her Pokemon. "We became close. We'd talk, and play, and I'd spend all my time with her outside of school. Spritzee was...my best friend."
Ash understood that expression all too well. With a glance at Pikachu, Ash knew who was his best friend as well.
"So, you can understand Spritzee?" Brock inquired with a wrinkled forehead. It was one of the things he never understood about Ash and Pikachu. The speech coming from Pikachu hardly made sense to Brock, yet Ash could hold a conversation with his partner as though Pikachu was speaking in English.
"It's not so much that I understand what she says, but I understand what she's trying to," Valerie stopped for a moment, thinking about the right word to describe this. "I want to say, convey. What she says, makes sense to me."
Brock shifted his focus to Ash.
"And it's the same for you?" He inquired, and Ash looked up in thought after having only a few moments to digest what Valerie had shared on this subject.
"Uh…kind of. It's like Valerie said, I'm not trying to understand Pikachu word for word. I'm just, feeling what he feels." Ash said with a nod of agreement to Valerie's point.
"I think of it as a language of love, Brock." She added with a thoughtful glance at her Pokemon, her lips curving up into a faint smile. Catching sight her trainer's gaze, Spritzee raised her small wings and vaulted herself to Valerie's lap. "You don't need context or a word for word translation. You just…know."
Ash gave a nod of agreement, and Brock raised his brow with intrigue. This conversation with Valerie proved to be more enlightening than he had planned on.
"So, love is how you understand each other?" Brock clarified, motioning to each of them.
"Yeah. I mean, when you love someone, and they love you, you have a really deep connection with them, right?" Valerie asked him, and Brock nodded in reply. "It's the same way. We're connected through love."
The sort of admiration Ash developed for Valerie in the span of a few short sentences was…indescribable. Her love for Pokemon, Spritzee especially, was as clear as day.
"That was the reason I thought being around Pokemon was normal. I loved Spritzee, and I thought I could convince my parents to feel the same way." Valerie went on.
That proved to be a disastrous mistake.
She took Spritzee home with her one evening, planning to introduce the small sprite-like creature to her family.
"My parents couldn't believe that I would 'put our household at risk' by bringing a Pokemon into it," Valerie revealed sadly. "Unlike Kanto, in Johto, possession of a Pokemon is against the law. My parents wanted no part of what I was doing, so they gave me a choice. I could leave home with Spritzee, or I would have to face the law."
It was clear that Valerie chose the former, and Ash's expression darkened at this.
He could remember the distress on her face as she spoke during his intervention. At the time, he thought that she was trying to discourage him from pursuing Pokemon, and his chest began to ache from an onset of guilt. Valerie didn't deserve any kind of skepticism from him. She had been through much more than he knew.
To think that her parents threw her out at such a young age…
"I had no idea what I was going to do. All I had was what I packed, and Spritzee." Valerie continued solemnly. She was confident that selecting Spritzee was the right choice, but it didn't take long for her to discover the consequences of this choice. None of her friends could help her, so she had nowhere she could stay.
Her only choice was to forgo completing high school and shove off.
She learned that the people in Kanto were more lenient toward Pokemon, and there was some truth in this. With what money she had, Valerie purchased a one-way ticket on the Magnet Train to Saffron City. The first year was unbelievably hard. Many sleepless nights plagued by insomnia and homesickness. But there were positives to draw from. She found a roommate that was willing to split their rent with her, although as part of the agreement to accommodate for Spritzee, Valerie had to pick up the bulk of the payment. She worked full-time as a waitress until she was twenty, and during this time, she studied to receive a general education diploma.
"I was a junior in high school when I had to leave home. It took me four years from that point to get the equivalent of a high school diploma," Valerie stated, and Ash recalled her stance on dropping out of school during his intervention. He understood why she stood so strongly against his plan. "I've never regretted my choice, no matter how hard things became. Spritzee has been my best friend, someone who has been there for me when I didn't have anyone else."
Ash's nostrils flared, but he bit down on his lower lip to keep himself from snapping about Valerie's parents. It really hurt him to discover that her parents had chosen to abandon their daughter for their own "security."
He would find a way to fix this.
"Of course, things got better with time," Valerie said with a small smile as she looked toward their Pokemon. "Having Spritzee kept me from getting too depressed. I didn't give up, and I kept working. And being broke had its silver lining, I got all the financial aid I needed to finish design school, and then I'm sure I'll be fine. I mean, as long as I have Spritzee I know I'll be okay."
"Valerie…" Ash began, receiving her full attention. "You have my word that I'll change all of this one day. It's crap that you got shafted for picking Pokemon, but I'm going to make it so that anyone who makes that choice in the future doesn't have to go through what you went through."
Valerie smiled faintly at him, impressed with his conviction.
Ash Ketchum was going to make a difference.
Friday, December 2nd
Today was the due date for Fantina's group assignment, and Ash sat sleepy-eyed in his desk within the classroom. Due to the extenuating circumstances, Ash's group received some preferential treatment from Fantina to accommodate for their subject matter and the issues caused by it.
Ash came forward earlier this week and revealed how he negatively impacted their project, stalling the development of a piece because of his stance on Pokemon. Fantina respected Ash for standing by his beliefs, but she couldn't let it slide that he stopped two of his classmates from working properly on this project.
Rather than give the group an extension because the end of the term was approaching, Fantina opted to give Dawn and May partial credit. Ash, however, would be receiving a zero on this assignment which he accepted gratefully. Dawn and May were omitted from the final portion of this assignment of presenting their piece of the class, and Ash was left to do this on his own with the piece he developed by himself.
Between training for his challenge with Brawly and finishing this assignment, Ash was wiped out. Fortunately, he would be the last to present in class today, so that afforded him some time to gather his thoughts.
The sketch he had given to Dawn was the basis for what he painted. It was inspired by the painting he had found by Edna Hardt, though he lightened the mood considerably. He was almost anxious to show it to the class. Shaking his head to focus, Ash looked up at the front of the room where a team of three guys was sharing some of the details concerning their work.
"Despite spending the last three weeks studying pop art, I think it's safe to say three stooges like us won't really understand it." Oliver remarked to conclude their presentation. Some of the class laughed while others clapped for them. Taking down their painting from the easel, Fantina called for the last presentation of the day.
"Monsieur Ketchum." She stated, looking at him. With a sigh Ash rose from his seat, carefully picking up his canvas by the edges and taking it up front with him. Once it was situated on the easel, Ash stepped away allowing the class to look at his work.
The reactions were…lacking, to say the least.
Everyone was impressed with Ash's skill as an artist as always, but having a Pikachu as the focal point of the painting was off-putting for some of his classmates. Seeing Pikachu beam up at them, extending an olive branch as an offering of peace…most of them had no idea what to say. And to top it all off, there was a human hand reaching toward Pikachu to accept the offering.
"The time period I studied was right after the Great Crisis." Ash began, and his peers looked at him curiously. "Many people are unfamiliar with it because the Great Crisis was what historians consider a global catastrophe. The time period following this was filled with artwork of the aftermath of this event. Mourning, tragedy, and suffering were the main themes during that time period."
"I heard from my parents that Pokemon were responsible for the Great Crisis." One of his classmates, Oliver, piped up. Ash exhaled but gave him a nod.
"According to what I researched, that's true." Ash replied.
"So why do you have a Pokemon as the centerpiece then?" He asked rather snidely, and Ash gave him a narrow glance.
"Well, it's been exactly ninety-four years since the Great Crisis. People still fear Pokemon, and I think it's time for that to change." Ash said before motioning to his painting. "A lot of people live under the assumption that all Pokemon are dangerous, when that's as far from the truth as you can get. It's why I went out of my way to show this Pikachu as the happy and peace-loving Pokemon that it is."
This comment wasn't well received. Some of them began to whisper to their desk mates, but one of his classmates, Morgan, raised his hand to pose a question. As part of the presentation, they were expected to answer questions if there were any.
"This is kind of personal, but my grandfather and great-grandfather were killed by a Pokemon during the Great Crisis. What makes you think they're peace-loving?" Morgan asked him with a touch of sharpness in his tone. Ash could see he was walking on a minefield with his class. He had to be careful with everything he said from this point forward.
"No one knows what happened during the Great Crisis. According to many historians, people and Pokemon lived together prior to the Great Crisis. That alone proves that there was a time when we had Pokemon around us all the time." Ash stated, but Morgan had more to say.
"If you ask me, Pokemon just decided to show their true colors during the Great Crisis. Those things have no place in our lives." Morgan said vehemently, and to Ash's surprise, a few of his classmates voiced their agreement.
"Uh, hold on. Is this an opinion you came up with yourself, or did your parent's force feed you that?" Ash asked with a straight face. Then he blinked, realizing that he had allowed himself to speak without thinking. Part of him wanted to take back that comment, but another part of him wore a smirk as he saw Morgan's face contort with contempt for him.
"Dude, what's your problem?" Oliver asked Ash, coming to Morgan's defense. "His great grandpa died, you don't need to be an ass about it."
Ash didn't take to kindly to this as things swayed in Morgan's favor, but Fantina came to his rescue.
"Silence s'il vous plait!" Fantina interjected to cut off the murmurs among her students. "Monsieur Ketchum has the stage. Allow him to present."
Seeing that her class had become quiet again, Fantina gave Ash a nod as a gesture to continue.
"Um…so during this time after the Great Crisis, there was a lot of unrest concerning Pokemon. Because of this, many artists followed the trend at the time and portrayed them in a negative light." Ash went on.
"Which they deserved." Morgan said, just loud enough for everyone to here. Fantina shot him a glance and he leaned back into his chair, showing his irritation with the subject.
Ash cleared his throat, feeling his throat dry up. He had never made a big deal about speaking in front of people, but under the scorn filled stares of his classmates, Ash became rather nervous.
"Rather than follow the guidelines of the artwork from that era, I chose to illustrate that with the passage of time, opinions can change. It's been almost a century since the Great Crisis; we shouldn't let the past dictate our future." Ash said, hoping that this would resonate with his peers. This only seemed to incite further discussion which Morgan took charge in.
"I wouldn't trust a Pokemon, not if my life depended on it." Morgan declared, ignoring Fantina's gaze as he spoke. "You know why? Because history repeats itself. In the past, our grandparents trusted Pokemon and were killed for it. So, we are making a difference right now if we stay smart, and stay the hell away from Pokemon, Ash!"
"Morgan, that is enough," Fantina spoke with a ferocity through grit teeth. The manner in which she spoke had never been seen by her students, and it effectively silenced all of them. "I want to speak with you after class."
As if she had given the bell a cue, it chimed and the tension in the room dispersed as the number of students dwindled. Ash slowly took his painting off the easel, and he could hear his peers speaking amongst themselves as they left.
"What kind of crap is he pushing on us?"
"How stupid can you be?"
"It kind of makes sense now. He's really good at art, so he must be crazy."
Ash tightened his hold on his painting, watching as the class emptied out.
Dawn bit down on her lower lip as she moved to her seat for second period. Ash was still up at the front of the class wearing an expression that Dawn had never seen on him before. A face of defeat.
When the rows were clear, Ash journeyed to his desk at the back of the room to collect his bag. May approached his desk and placed a hand on his shoulder to console him. He gave her a grateful nod, but she had to leave to get to her second period class. Rather than stay in the art room like he usually would, Ash made his way toward the exit.
"Monsieur." Fantina stopped him, calling him to her desk to speak with him. She had already spoken to Morgan who was long gone, but Fantina felt the need to speak with Ash as well. "I'm sorry that things went that way, Ash."
He simply shook his head.
"It's okay. I wasn't expecting much to begin with." He admitted, refusing to meet her gaze.
"Don't worry about them. It will all blow over by Monday." Fantina assured him. He gave a small nod before he left. Stepping out of her room, Ash looked down the corridor trying to think of where he should spend his free period. One way would take him back to the main stairway of the school, but the other way would take him to the emergency exit.
He didn't feel like being in school today. Not anymore.
"Those things have no place in our lives."
"I wouldn't trust a Pokemon, not if my life depended on it."
"…stay the hell away from Pokemon…"
Ash slammed the side of his fist into the wall angrily, ignoring the pain that jolted through his arm.
As much as it bothered him to face it firsthand, Ash knew that this was what he would be facing if he wanted to make a difference. One day…he didn't know when, but statements like these would be a thing of the past.
He would make sure of it.
A/N
So, this chapter was one giant set up for this arc which I think you guys are really going to enjoy. I've been really looking forward to this part because this is where you guys will get a taste for what I have in store for you all. The updates might be a little slow, err, slower than usual because I've been going through some transitions in life. I'm really hoping everything works out, but I'll know for sure in the coming weeks. So, my apologies to you all in advance in the off chance my already poor schedule gets even worse.
Update : Another thing I'll add is that I've been thinking a lot about whether or not to address Pokemon with gender pronouns. Up until this point, I had been referring to them as 'it.' But I felt it was too impersonal considering the subject matter of this story, especially with this chapter. So from this point forward, Pokemon will also be addressed as 'he' and 'she.' I'll be slowly picking through my earlier chapters to make corrections as well, but this little transition is proving to be harder than I thought. If I managed to miss any feel free to point them out to me.
I'll also add that I'm shocked this story is already 200k words! Would you guys believe me if I said we're still just scratching the surface? Lol, I'm just trying to strike up a bit of conversation with you guys. But don't brush aside my comments, Ash's journey is just getting started and we have a lot of ground of cover!
I think this chapter should've given you a glance into some of the future subjects we're going to tackle, and again, I hope you all stick around for this journey. It's going to be long, entertaining and downright crazy at times. Don't say I didn't warn you. ;)
Now I think its confession time. Flashback to my first author's note in chapter one, I said I haven't played Pokemon since Gen 5. Well writing this kind of…'forced' me to go get a Pokemon game, Pokemon X for those wondering, and I ran right through it. I gotta say that the difference between the DSi, and 3DS is absurd. The Pokemon world is so much more imaginative now than in prior generations. Obviously, the hardware is letting them do things they couldn't before, but I really have to give props to Nintendo and Game Freak for stepping it up! I'd put a thumbs up emoji here but I'm not sure I can do that on fanfiction net lol.
So gimme some love guys! Any feedback is welcomed and appreciated!
Wishing everyone the best in whatever you're doing! Be safe, be smart, be sane!
Peace!